Saturday, October 15, 2011

Pedal time! After the Mystery guitar (still no better name - I like die Planck, a mock German name suggested by Guitarz co-poster David from Barcelona, but I'm not sure), let's go back to my DIY fuzzbox project - and while I'm at it, I plan to rehouse my Danelectro Rocky Road.

I like the sound of this cheap version of a Leslie - I bought it to check if that would be a sound I could include in my music, before getting a more serious one, but it's good enough - or at least it would be if it was not so unpractical! The foot switches are too low, too small and to close to each other - as are the pot knobs... So I tore it apart to look how it would be modifiable, and it's going to be difficult - it's super compact and everything that I should replace is connected directly on the PCBs - and here again I know so little!

But the only way to learn is to try, so I can only hope that I won't screw it all, and just go for it!

Mmh, it's really not easy, because of all the components that are set directly on the board, and that I cannot identify to get the proper replacement parts... I listed all I need and I'm about to order it but I'm still not sure about what kind of pots are required for example...

I've been looking for tutorials online and there are a few things about rehousing Dan'os but not the Rocky Road, and there is this pedal company Walrus that does it but they charge $100 for it so I doubt that they will provide information - must be some kind of industrial secret...

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guitar blog

Is it vain to have a personal guitar blog - one more guitar blog? Probably...

But when I started to pay more and more attention to my guitars - lifetime companions and much more than mere working tools -, I've been quite happy to gather information on the net, on blogs, forums, fan sites, etc... So maybe some people will benefit in a way or another from this one.

And maybe also one day someone will see and appreciate my design work and ask me to design guitars for his project or his company - feel free to contact me if you're interested!

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a shameful guitar joke

A sunburst Stratocaster walks into a bar, orders a beer and takes a stool next to a hot-looking Les Paul Goldtop, who's sipping an umbrella drink. The Strat leers at the Les Paul for several minutes and then says, "Hey, that's some set of humbuckers you got on you, darlin'."

"You're not getting any feedback off of me with a pickup line like that," the Goldtop says indignantly.